How to Create Bitcoin Wallet Apps: Step-by-Step Guide

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that can be used electronically for financial transactions. You can conveniently send and receive bitcoins using a Bitcoin wallet app. Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet in the same way that cash or cards are kept in a physical wallet.

We can store bitcoins through Bitcoin wallet apps, which are well-known for being secure, private, and confidential. Bitcoin is transferred between users through a peer-to-peer network, and each transaction is recorded in the blockchain.

Blockchain is a decentralised system and there are no central figures of authority such as a bank or government managing the amount of Bitcoin in circulation.

How Bitcoin is Beneficial to Businesses

Bitcoin payments are particularly appealing and beneficial for businesses. Below are some of the reasons:

• Protection against fraud

  Bitcoin payments are irreversible and secure, so businesses should no longer be concerned about fraud, as well as the withdrawal of a cheque.

• Fast international payments

  Sending bitcoins to another country is a simple process. There are no intermediary banks so you do not have to wait almost three working days for the transaction to complete. There are also no limits on the amount you can transfer.

• PCI standards are not required

  Obviously, the security of your bitcoin wallet and billing requirements should be taken into consideration. However, unlike when dealing with traditional credit cards, you will not be required to process your clients' personal information.

• Multiple signatures

  Bitcoin also has a multi-signature option, which necessitates the approval of payment by several members from the same group. It would be useful if you need to coordinate multiple actions.

• Financial transparency

  You may provide the utmost level of transparency by using Bitcoin.

How Does A Bitcoin Wallet Work?

When someone sends Bitcoin from their own wallet address to another, they are transferring ownership of the coins to the recipient's wallet address. The transaction is recorded on the Bitcoin Blockchain, and the balances of the Bitcoin wallets are updated.

This transaction is based on asymmetric key cryptography that uses two kinds of keys - the private key and the public key. You have to login into the bitcoin wallet app to perform the transaction.

Types of Bitcoin Wallets

Following are the commonly used bitcoin wallet types;

• Desktop Wallet

  Desktop wallets can be downloaded and installed on a computer or laptop. They can only be accessed by using a gadget. However, if your computer is infected with a virus, is hacked, or suffers external damage, you risk losing all of your funds.

• Internet (online) Wallet

  A web wallet is a virtual resource that utilizes a private key for connecting to any location with the help of an internet connection. It would be beneficial if you were away from your computer and needed access to your Bitcoin account right away.

• Mobile Wallet

  Mobile wallets are apps that can run on a mobile device. These wallets are quite useful because they can be used to make payments even in offline stores. The main issue with mobile wallets is that you risk losing your funds if you lose your phone or it is damaged.

• Hardware Wallet

  Hardware wallets are specialized devices like USB drives that can be used to store private keys. These wallets are useful since they allow you to do transactions smoothly. You may just connect them to the internet and authorise yourself to make the payment. This is why, despite their high cost, hardware wallets remain the best and safest Bitcoin wallet solutions.

• Paper Wallet

  These are printed documents that contain public and private keys you've generated. When compared to other wallets, paper wallets are the safest bitcoin wallets. You can conveniently send money to the wallet's public address, and you can easily withdraw Bitcoin by providing private keys or scanning the QR code on the paper wallet. The primary downside is that you won't be able to retrieve your funds if you lose your wallet.

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Features Required to Create a Bitcoin Wallet App

• Registration system

  Obviously, any cryptocurrency wallet software should give users the option to authorise. Therefore, the sign-up and login feature is mandatory.

• Dashboard page

  The details of the bitcoins will be visible on this page.

• QR code scanner

  To receive and send money with ease.

• Security

  Creating a password and pin code for app security.

• The ability to create new addresses for every transaction.

• Bitcoin multi-currency exchange support

  It implies that you should develop a multi-cryptocurrency wallet software.

• Trading service

  This function is aimed to support you in selling or purchasing bitcoins. It keeps you up-to-date on the subject so you always know who is selling this cryptocurrency and can work as a seller.

• Real-time payment tracking

  All of the finest bitcoin wallet apps allow users to keep track of their payment transactions in real-time.

• The ability to show the balance of your wallet.

• Push-notifications

  This feature allows users to receive information about transactions, fluctuation in Bitcoin market price, etc.

• The exchange rate

  Bitcoin price can be easily tracked.

How to Build Bitcoin Wallet App From Scratch Without Using Any Existing Libraries

Developing a bitcoin wallet app from the scratch requires relevant programming skills, and the developers need to address the following:

• Install the required APIs or tools to synchronize the blockchain network.
• Incorporate all the necessary programming to build a bitcoin wallet app.
• Create software that allows you to change permissions for outgoing and incoming transactions.
• Implement standard code for the steps of the commonly used transaction procedure, for e.g. checking the wallet balance.

For this project, we suggest that the development team set up a full node of the Bitcoin blockchain. The other approaches that can be used are full SPV node, pruned node, or SPV node.

To install a full node, developers can use Bitcoin Core‘s RPC, i.e. ‘remote procedure call’ for which we suggest using NBitcoin. Developers should fully synchronize the node at first and then use RPC commands to perform the remaining actions.

Developers should do Initial Blockchain Downloading (IBD) and then start the program that implements the Bitcoin protocol for RPC calls. To build a bitcoin wallet app, choose the appropriate cloud platform like AWS Elastic Beanstalk (which is “Platform-as-a-Service”), or AWS Amplify (which is “Mobile-Backend-as-a-Service”).

Tech Stack Required to Create a Bitcoin Wallet App

If you want to build a web application, choose AngularJS, HTML5 and CSS3 for developing the front-end, and use NodeJS to develop the back-end. You can select AWS to set up the server.

For Android, you can use Java to develop the front-end and provide API services by utilizing dot NET/Node JS/Python.

For iOS, you can select Objective C/Swift to develop the frontend and backend and provide API services by utilizing dot NET/Node JS/Python.

How to Build Bitcoin Wallet App By Using Libraries

To build your app, you can leverage the public libraries that are available online. These libraries will synchronize your app with the blockchain and implement standard functionalities on your app. Chain-Java and BitcoinJ are two excellent examples of public libraries.

BitcoinJ is a Bitcoin library that can be used to interact with both Windows and Android platforms. BitcoinJ SDK will offer Bitcoin developers a standard set of tools for sending and receiving Bitcoin, as well as checking the current balance. It is also beneficial for implementing encryption.

Coinbase SDK is a Java library that can be leveraged to develop a bitcoin wallet app for Android and iOS. Official libraries for Java, Python and other programming languages are available.

Programmers will have a full stack of APIs with Blockchain.Info. APIs (Application Program Interfaces) will help you to synchronise crypto wallets with the blockchain ecosystem.

How to Make Your Bitcoin Wallet App Even More Secure

• Encryption

  You can encrypt the wallet using a strong password, making it difficult to hack a PC or mobile device. Though, this may not offer 100 per cent protection.

• Backup

  Another technique to safeguard your mobile or online cryptocurrency wallet is to generate its backup in many locations.

• Two-factor Authorization

  Users can use two-factor authorization to add their phone numbers and email addresses to receive authentication notifications anytime their wallet is used. This way, they'll know whether someone has attempted to log into their account without their permission or not.

• Additional Tips

  • When creating a Bitcoin account, use a password that is both unique and long.
  • If you are using a mobile wallet, make sure the phone is password-protected.
  • Only keep a limited number of bitcoins in your mobile wallet or on the Internet. Your main amount of bitcoins should always be kept offline, out of reach of possible hackers.
  • All software on your computer and other devices should be updated.

How to Incorporate Bitcoin Payments Into Apps?

There's no need to create your own bitcoin wallet app if your company doesn't require a complex multipurpose solution. In this instance, you can make Bitcoin payments using one of the ready-made services available. You just need to integrate payment technologies like BitPay, Coinbase, etc. into your application.

Conclusion

As the popularity of Bitcoins is increasing, the demand for Bitcoin wallet apps is rising. Make sure to develop a Bitcoin wallet app with the right security features implemented.